Early filing deadlines coming, poor bar bass rate, and Maxine Waters loses her SLAPP appeal: Legal News for May 11, 2023

Timothy Kowal, Esq.
 •
May 12, 2023
 •  

Here are some legal trends and trivia from the week ending May 11, 2023:

🕛 5:00 filing deadlines coming! The Third Circuit adopted a rule that requires filings be submitted by 5 pm on the due date. Fed. R. App. P. 26(a)(4)(B) sets the deadline for electronic filings in a court of appeals to be midnight in the court’s time zone on its due date. However, that rule is premised on the condition that no “different time is set by a statute, local rule, or court order.” The Third Circuit is the only circuit to take advantage of that clause to set a uniform 5 pm filing deadline. Watch for other circuits to possibly follow suit. (Via Robert Peck.)

🗣️SCOTUS oral arguments are, like, way long. One Supreme Court practitioner pines for the old days of 30-minute arguments. Now they can be over 3 hours. (Via Ben Shatz.)

😕The press don’t get law. Supreme Court says a lawsuit based on a public-construction contract can go forward, but a headline reports that the Court declared the contract invalid. (Via David Ettinger.)

🪖Defamation complaint against Maxine Waters for falsely saying her opponent was “dishonorably discharged” can go forward after Court of Appeal reverses her anti-SLAPP victory. (Via Shaun Martin.)

📄 Should I include a stand-alone “introduction” section in my brief? Apparently there are jurisdictions that do not allow them. Otherwise, the answer is always the same: Yes. (Via Jayne Woods.)

❌ CA Bar Exam pass rate = 32.5% (Via Ben Shatz.)

🚫 The Supreme Court denied review to a would-be lawyer’s attempt to force the State Bar to allow him to take the bar exam. James Camper III was excluded from the exam because he didn’t have his law degree; his law school was withholding his degree due to his failure to repay a loan issued by the school for tuition and fees. (Via David Ettinger.)

Tim Kowal is an appellate specialist certified by the California State Bar Board of Legal Specialization. Tim helps trial attorneys and clients win their cases and avoid error on appeal. He co-hosts the Cal. Appellate Law Podcast at www.CALPodcast.com, and publishes summaries of cases and appellate tips for trial attorneys at www.tvalaw.com/articles. Contact Tim at tkowal@tvalaw.com or (714) 641-1232.

Get “Not To Be Published,” a weekly digest of these articles, delivered to your inbox by subscribing here: https://tvalaw.com/california-appellate-newsletter.